• Sassafras Bee Farm
  • About
  • Contact

Beekeeping365

~ The more I studied beekeeping, the less I knew, until, finally, I knew nothing. But, even though I knew nothing, I still had plenty to unlearn. Charles Martin Simon

Beekeeping365

Tag Archives: death

Telling the Bees

30 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by sassafrasbeefarm in beekeeping, beekeeping history

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

beekeeping, beekeeping customs, beekeeping history, beekeeping lore, customs, death, funeral, Halloween, John Greenleaf Whittier, poetry, telling the bees

Charles_Napier_Hemy-Telling_the_Bees

Charles Napier Hemy (1841-1917) – Telling the Bees

Telling the Bees

The telling of the bees is a traditional English custom, in which bees would be told of important events in their keeper’s lives, such as births, marriages, or departures and returns in the household. The bees were most commonly told of deaths in their master’s family.

To inform the bees of a death their hive might be hung with a black cloth, while a “doleful tune” is sung. Another method of “telling the bees” would be for their master to approach the hive and knock gently upon it. The house key might also be used to knock on the hive. When the master of the house had the attention of the bees they would tell the bees the name of the person that had died.

Food and drink from a beekeeper’s funeral would also be left by the hive for the bees, including the funeral biscuits and wine. The hive would also be lifted a few inches and put down again at the same time as the coffin. The hive might also be rotated to face the funeral procession, and draped with mourning cloth.

A section from John Greenleaf Whittier‘s poem “Home Ballads” describes the practice:

Before them, under the garden wall,
Forward and back
Went, drearily singing, the chore-girl small,
Draping each hive with a shred of black.

Trembling, I listened; the summer sun
Had the chill of snow;
For I knew she was telling the bees of one
Gone on the journey we all must go!

“Stay at home, pretty bees, fly not hence!
Mistress Mary is dead and gone!”

Source and to read more: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telling_the_bees

Video animation of John Greenleaf Whittier via YouTube posted by poetryreincarnations

Video of Holland beekeeper telling the bees via Youtube posted by Historical Honeybee Articles

Advertisement

Feel free to share this on:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Telling the Bees by Deborah Diggs

31 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by sassafrasbeefarm in beekeeping, folklore

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

beekeeping, death, folklore, telling the bees

12038100_10153746778124736_6936598331526167183_n

It fell to me to tell the bees,
though I had wanted another duty—
to be the scribbler at his death,
there chart the third day’s quickening.
But fate said no, it falls to you
to tell the bees, the middle daughter.
So it was written at your birth.

(cont.)

Read full poem here:  “Telling the Bees” by Deborah Digges — Words for the Year

From Trapeze by Deborah Digges.

Feel free to share this on:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...
Follow Beekeeping365 on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Calendar

February 2023
S M T W T F S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728  
« Nov    

Posts by Month:

  • November 2022 (1)
  • September 2022 (1)
  • July 2022 (1)
  • March 2022 (13)
  • February 2022 (17)
  • January 2022 (4)
  • December 2021 (4)
  • November 2021 (7)
  • October 2021 (1)
  • September 2021 (3)
  • August 2021 (11)
  • July 2021 (18)
  • June 2021 (5)
  • May 2021 (2)
  • April 2021 (9)
  • March 2021 (2)
  • February 2021 (5)
  • January 2021 (16)
  • December 2020 (15)
  • November 2020 (15)
  • October 2020 (11)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (1)
  • March 2019 (2)
  • February 2019 (4)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (10)
  • November 2018 (8)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (25)
  • August 2018 (13)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (27)
  • May 2018 (33)
  • April 2018 (20)
  • March 2018 (20)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (22)
  • December 2017 (18)
  • November 2017 (17)
  • October 2017 (25)
  • September 2017 (27)
  • August 2017 (22)
  • July 2017 (29)
  • June 2017 (28)
  • May 2017 (19)
  • April 2017 (17)
  • March 2017 (19)
  • February 2017 (12)
  • January 2017 (13)
  • December 2016 (5)

Posts by Categories:

  • absconding (1)
  • africanized honey bees (1)
  • apitherapy (1)
  • bee health (6)
  • bee law (2)
  • bee lining (2)
  • bee removals (2)
  • beekeeper (5)
  • beekeeper education (16)
  • beekeeping (615)
    • South Carolina (2)
  • beekeeping author (10)
  • beekeeping books (14)
  • beekeeping calendar (5)
  • beekeeping chores (8)
  • beekeeping equipment (25)
  • beekeeping history (49)
  • beekeeping management (38)
  • beekeeping pest management (9)
  • beekeeping seasons (23)
  • beekeeping vocabulary (16)
  • beeswax (13)
  • biography (4)
  • biology (14)
  • birthday (40)
  • birthdays (34)
  • book review (16)
  • breakfast (1)
  • calendar (4)
  • CCD (1)
  • chores (6)
  • comb (7)
  • comb honey (10)
  • commercial beekeeping (2)
  • cutouts (2)
  • dearth (3)
  • defensiveness (2)
  • diseases (9)
  • drawn comb (6)
  • ecology (4)
  • education (28)
  • equipment (25)
  • extracting (1)
  • fall nectar flow (1)
  • famous beekeepers (27)
  • feeding bees (8)
  • first blog entry (1)
  • folklore (1)
  • food (7)
  • forage (4)
  • hacks (3)
  • hive inspections (8)
  • hive placement (2)
  • hive products (6)
  • honey (91)
  • honey as food (23)
  • honey bee anatomy (3)
  • honey bee behavior (25)
  • honey bee biology (43)
  • honey bee genetics (4)
  • honey bee nutrition (1)
  • honey bee photos (6)
  • Honey Bee Research (1)
  • honey bee vocabulary (12)
  • honey bees (14)
  • honey judging (4)
  • honey recipe (68)
  • humor (14)
  • inspections (10)
  • journal (1)
  • log book (1)
  • making increase (3)
  • management (84)
  • mentoring (2)
  • mites (3)
  • national pollinator week (2)
  • nectar flow (6)
  • nomenclature (1)
  • opinion (8)
  • out yards (1)
  • outyards (1)
  • package bees (1)
  • pears (1)
  • pests (18)
  • plants for bees (3)
  • polish (1)
  • pollen (4)
  • pollination (11)
  • pollinators (7)
  • product review (1)
  • production (1)
  • products (3)
  • propolis (2)
  • queens (17)
  • raw honey (7)
  • recipe (91)
  • removals (1)
  • safety (3)
  • sales (2)
  • season (1)
  • seasons (21)
  • sideliner (1)
  • small hive beetles (1)
  • spring buildup (4)
  • state fair (2)
  • sustainable (7)
  • swarms (26)
  • ursurpation (1)
  • usurpation (1)
  • varroa (22)
  • varroa destructor (13)
  • varroa mites (26)
  • Winter (5)
  • winter solstice (2)
  • woodenware (3)
  • yellow jackets (2)

Sassafras Bee Farm on Facebook

Sassafras Bee Farm on Facebook

Sassafras Bee Farm

Sassafras Bee Farm

Recent Posts

  • Midlands Beekeeping Calendar for December
  • Helpful Hints as You Prepare Your South Carolina State Fair Entry
  • Happy Birthday Petro Prokopovych
  • Why did my bees die?
  • Happy Birthday Dr. Wladyslaw Zbikowski

Beekeeping365 on Facebook

Beekeeping365 on Facebook

Top Posts & Pages

  • A pint is a pound the world around...
    A pint is a pound the world around...
  • About
    About
  • Happy Birthday Johannes Mehring
    Happy Birthday Johannes Mehring

Blog Stats

  • 105,445 hits

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Beekeeping365
    • Join 422 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Beekeeping365
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: